Did you know an asteroid almost hit the Earth on Jan 13? I didn't, either. Not to worry, though. According to this story on Wired.com the asteroid probably wasn't large enough to create any sort of Deep Impact-type carnage.
 
The rock, between 30 and 50 feet across, was not in danger of striking the planet and probably would have burned up in the atmosphere before hitting Earth’s surface, if it had headed our way. The asteroid, dubbed 2010 AL30 was first spotted and announced Monday. It is the closest encounter Earth will have with any known object until 2024.
 

This is awful. Undignafied. Wrong, wrong, wrong! But you have to admit, it is kind of funny.

From the Calgary Herald:

An American animal-rights activist, unhappy with Canada's seal hunt, was arrested Monday after striking Fisheries Minister Gail Shea in the face with a pie moments after she began speaking at an event in Burlington, Ont.

By David E. Petzal

While at the SCI Convention in Reno, I visited with gun builder D’Arcy Echols, and was allowed to grope one of his left-hand Legend rifles in .270. The Legend was on loan back to him, and here is its history from D’Arcy:

“The gal that owns this rifle has used it on mule deer in Colorado, elk and moose in Utah, and red stag, chamois, and tahr in New Zealand. This year a Yukon moose and grizzly hunt is on the calendar. She shoots factory Remington Safari Grade 140-grain Swift A-Frame ammo. To date nothing has gotten away to die a slow, lingering death. She has taken some ribbing from male hunters in camp for shooting such a minimal caliber but always seems to serve them up a plate of very dry crow to eat at the end of the hunt. She has no other rifle and no plans to acquire another. Beware of the one-gun gal.”

From the Anchorage Daily News:

Black bear encounters happen every summer… and a new study suggests rubber bullets are the best way to send the bruins packing.

An article in this month's issue of The Journal of Wildlife Management based on a four-year study in California's Sequoia National Park says shooting black bears with rubber slugs from a 12-gauge shotgun is most effective -- better than pepper spray, chasing them off or hitting them with rocks.